JEDDAH, 19 November 2006 — Zahid Tractor, the sole distributor of Volvo trucks in the Kingdom and a partner in the local production, launched its locally produced trucks at its factory here yesterday.
The assembly plant, located at Kilo 14, Makkah Ring Road, is a joint project between the Swedish Volvo Group, one of the world’s largest producers of heavy trucks, and Jeddah-based Zahid Tractor Saudi Arabia. The joint venture, Arabian Trucks and Cars Manufacturing Company Ltd., was formed in 1998 to assemble Volvo trucks in the form of completely knocked down units (CKUs).
A highly qualified and well trained technical and administrative working team operates the assembly plant. They include 75 percent Saudis. Five of its work force are those with special needs.
“Zahid Tractor is very proud to provide Swedish quality trucks produced by Saudi hands,” Samir Al-Shubaily, a top executive at Zahid Tractor, said at the two-day roadshow that kicked off at the factory premises yesterday. This will be followed by road shows in Riyadh from Nov. 25-26 and in Dammam on Dec. 2. The plant has a capacity to assemble more than 1,000 trucks annually, he said, adding that currently two truck models are being rolled out in the plant — FH for long haul and FM for the construction industry. Both trucks are equipped with diesel engines of 13-liter displacement that produce 440 and 400 horse power, respectively. Volvo has more than 75 years of experience in truck-building business, he said and emphasized that the locally-assembled Volvo trucks maintain the same basic principles of safety and quality that the Volvo Group is committed to.
“The Volvo factory here holds highest quality certificate for the production of Volvo trucks in the world and has been classified as one of the best Volvo plants,” he said.
“For Volvo, progress and development is not confined to just selling more trucks, but selling trucks with a minimal impact on the environment. We at Zahid Tractor constantly strive to improve energy efficiency in our own operations, and we currently plan for CO2 emission-free production in our plant,” he said.
Demand for trucks in the Kingdom remains strong and the market is becoming tough and competitive, Tomas Thuresson, market manager, Volvo truck international division, Volvo Truck Corporation for the Middle East and Africa, said.
“The launch of our new product is timely and very important to meet the greater expectations of our customers. The new FH and FM trucks models will provide the customers with even greater competitiveness as it delivers high performance, and increased efficiency and comfort,” Thuresson said.
“The new models have taken our truck driveline to the next level. An investment of 200 million euros in driveline technology has resulted in trucks with the best driveability to the industry, combined with low operating costs,” he added.
Aside from providing the right truck, including customization for the customers, Zahid Tractor also offers training for drivers, and a 24-hour call center and breakdown assistance Kingdomwide.
“Producing high quality trucks is important but no longer enough. Customers demand more. They want a real partner who can add value to their business. We want Volvo Trucks to be that partner,” Thuresson said. “In fact, we’ve used our customer demands to develop a complete range of services, all aimed to improve the total performance of our customers’ business.”
“We’ve five workers with special needs now and will be adding some more of such workers next year,” Imran Zafar Malik, general manager of Arabian Vehicles and Trucks Industry Co. Ltd., told reporters during their factory visit. Supervisor Talal Harbi has been training workers with special needs and supervising their work.
This factory produces four trucks a day, an average of 18 trucks a week. “We hope to produce 650 trucks this year and increase the number to 1,000 next year,” he said, adding that workers at the plant assemble trucks with the help of as many as 1,500 parts.
